Hey AI, get back: Paul McCartney urges UK to protect musicians

In light of a proposed change to the copyright laws that the former Beatle feels would make it simpler to “rip off” creators, Paul McCartney pleaded with the British government to defend artists. Unless the copyright holders choose to opt-out, the U.K. government is now considering ideas that would permit tech companies to utilize copyrighted content to train AI through text and data mining. McCartney expressed concern in a recent BBC interview that frequent upgrades would deter artists from producing new music and lead to a “loss of creativity.”

When we were kids in Liverpool, we found a job that we loved, but it also paid the bills. You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don’t own it, and they don’t have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off. The truth is, the money’s going somewhere. And it gets on the streaming platforms. Somebody’s getting it, and it should be the person who created it. It shouldn’t just be some tech giant somewhere. Somebody’s getting paid, so why shouldn’t it be the guy who sat down and wrote ‘Yesterday’? Paul McCartney

Critics of the plan argue that it is not practical for authors to personally tell these AI businesses or to keep track of what happens to their work, even though the proposed copyright law reform would include a “rights reservation” allowing creators to opt out of having their work used to train AI. This week, a different idea that would allow artists to consent to the use of their creations to train AI will be presented.

We’re the people, you’re the government! You’re supposed to protect us. That’s your job. So you know, if you’re putting through a bill, make sure you protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists, or you’re not gonna have them. Paul McCartney